


when the sun shines on the rain...

by sillycharityx



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26441374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillycharityx/pseuds/sillycharityx
Summary: The greater the storm, the brighter the rainbow.
Relationships: Charity Dingle/Vanessa Woodfield
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	when the sun shines on the rain...

Emmerdale. As the village sleeps, a storm is waging war on the army of trees below - lightning illuminating the peaceful streets. Even the wildlife has taken shelter from the rain. At the heart of this storm Jacob’s Fold stands tall. When a storm rages outside you will always find one occupant of this house awake. Sat leaning against a window watching the rain hit every available surface. Forehead pressed against the pane of glass, as the raindrops race to the bottom. For years when the storms would come, she would have to face them alone. She would put on a brave face and will the fear to disappear. It was a lonely existence, but it was who she was. Who she became. It was how she liked it. For years her life had been shrouded in a deep rooted sadness, and whilst occasionally it felt like the storms raging outside could dampen this sadness, like water does a fire – it never quite managed to rebuild what she lost to the flames.

As she perched on the windowsill, lost to the spiralling world outside, she almost didn’t notice the change in atmosphere in the room. The still sereneness was disturbed. The sheets rustled and the bed frame creaked ever so slightly alerting her to the change. A second person came and stood beside her. Arms snaked around her waist; chin resting on her shoulder. A soothing kiss to the neck had the desired effect, causing a shiver to run through her veins. They stayed there watching the elements battle it out, not saying a word.

Charity had been alone for years. Even when she was with another, she was still alone. There had never been a connection as deep rooted as the one she is so very used to now. Even when they are apart Charity still feels Vanessa’s presence in the back of her mind. She hears her voice reminding her of her bravery and strength. She can close her eyes and see her smile shining brighter than the sun beating down from above. Nothing compares to the safety she feels when they are together. Nothing.

‘Come back to bed.’ Vanessa’s whisper coincided perfectly with a crash of thunder. The simultaneous noises startled Charity out of her reverie. She nodded and turned to shift herself off of the windowsill. Bare feet hitting the cool floor, hands reaching for Vanessa. They climbed back into the safety of their bed, legs entangled, heads resting on the same pillow. Vanessa pulled the duvet up over their shoulders, reaching out to brush Charity’s curls behind her ear. Leaving her palm resting on her cheek.

‘Two years.’  
‘Two years.’

Two years. Two years since Mark Bails was sentenced to thirty years in prison. Their lives had evolved so much since then in more ways than one. Last year Charity barely had time to process the memories as she tried to navigate caring for two small children suffering with the chicken pox. Still, that night when they retired to bed Vanessa made sure she held Charity just that bit closer. A few tears had escaped from behind her eyes shut tight as Vanessa whispered how proud she was of her. In moments like that Charity would always reach for Vanessa’s left hand – letting her thumb rest over the engagement ring. A symbol of their love. The promises they had made.

This year was different. Their love for each other had never been stronger or more apparent, but a new storm had appeared. Tearing apart the secure and reliable life they had built. For a while after, whenever Charity closed her eyes, she would see her broken love breaking the news to her all over again. Cancer. One word that had the ability to completely crush a person. A single word that became their entire world. Their lives revolving around treatment sessions, medication and side effects.

‘Thank you.’ Charity murmured.  
‘For what?’  
‘For being here.’ Whenever Charity thanked Vanessa like that, she had a habit of looking anywhere but the object of her attention. Her eyes today were drawn to the bouquet of flowers resting on their bedside table.

That morning Charity had packed the boys off to their Auntie Tracy’s for a day filled with no doubt too much sugar and fun. The older two offspring had both disappeared out to meet friends with a stern reminder from Charity to maintain a good level of social distance when out. They nodded their agreement and picked up their masks from the kitchen counter before heading out the door. The masks they wore, Vanessa had sent back with Charity on her last visit. Handmade with care. With the house peaceful for once, Charity sank into the sofa with a cup of tea. Not ten minutes later a sharp knock at the door pulled her out of her daydream. She ran through the possible people she would find on the other side of the door, silently praying it wouldn’t be Tracy back with the boys already. Maybe it was the postman, she thought.

Pure shock. Bewilderment. Confusion. Hidden behind what was potentially the largest bouquet of flowers she had ever laid eyes on was her Vanessa. Dressed in her signature yellow raincoat, to shield herself against the drizzle and the wind. 

‘Surprise?’ The grin on the smaller woman’s face was soon matched by Charity as the elation spread across her face. Vanessa carefully placed the flowers on the doorstep before stepping forward with her arms wide open. Still frozen in place, it took a moment for Charity to understand what was going on. As her mind caught up, her body went into autopilot and swept Vanessa up into her arms. She was home. Charity told herself to ignore how much skinnier Vanessa felt, instead choosing to focus on the familiar scent of her shampoo. The feel of her arms locked around her.

‘Missed you.’ She mumbled into Vanessa’s hair. They pulled apart ever so slightly to take each other in. Both women scanning critical eyes over the other looking for signs of discomfort. Despite falling asleep on facetime to each other each night, the bags were visible under both sets of eyes. Seemingly satisfied with her brief assessment of Vanessa’s wellbeing, Charity glanced down at the flowers at their feet. ‘They for me?’  
‘Nah they’re for Tracy.’  
‘Oh okay.’  
‘Of course they’re for you, you daft mare.’ Vanessa’s eyes twinkled as she pinched Charity’s side. Charity’s smile widened even more, as if in disbelief.

‘They’re gorgeous babe.’ She reached down to pick them up, marvelling at their beauty. Charity grabbed Vanessa’s hand and pulled her into their home.

It was the perfect day. Snuggled together on the sofa, as close as possible. As each member of the household returned it was as if the atmosphere in their living room blossomed more. Despite a storm beginning to gather momentum outside, within their little sanctuary the mood was nothing but positive. Seeing Vanessa surrounded by her children made Charity’s stomach flip on more than one occasion. At one-point Charity had them all crying with laughter as she regaled them with the tale of Johnny and Moses managing to get into her makeup bag. Funny now, yes, but at the time Charity was ready to skin them alive. It was only the look of Johnny with her lipstick smeared across his cheeks that stopped her. Also the fact that they managed to not get any on the white sofa. A tiny miracle if ever there was one. They really were a family.

As Charity continued to stare at the bouquet on their bedside table, she considered the choice of flowers.  
‘Why that combination?’ She asked, nodding towards the floral display.  
‘You’ll think I’m daft.’  
‘Oh babe, I always think you’re daft.’ She winked. Vanessa rolled her eyes but couldn’t quite stop the slight upturn of her lips.  
‘Fine I won’t tell you then.’ She huffed for good measure, shifting onto her back. Charity immediately rose onto her elbow, looking down at her. They hadn’t closed the curtains fully before returning to bed, so the outside light bathed their room in a slight moonlit hue. Amazing considering the severity of the storm; that the moon still broke through the clouds.  
‘Alright I swear I won’t make fun of your soppiness.’ Charity matched this promise with a hand to the heart. Vanessa raised her eyebrows slightly but gestured for Charity to lay down. Head on her chest, hands clasped, Charity settled into the comforting familiarity.

‘Okay, so my mum has this book on her coffee table, one of those decorative books that no one is ever supposed to open you know?’ Vanessa began her story, running soothing circles up and down Charity’s back. ‘Well it’s all about the mythology behind different types of flowers, and the other day boredom got the better of me, so I opened it. Looked for sunflowers first because they’re my favourite.’  
‘Surely they just represent the sun?’  
‘Turns out the meaning behind them is a bit depressing actually. They always manage to reposition themselves to face the sun, which at first you think is lovely… According to this book though, a nymph called Clytie absolutely adored Apollo, and at first, he supposedly loved her back but then he fell in love with someone else. Clytie was jealous obviously and basically sabotaged that relationship and Apollo punished her by turning her into a flower. But even as a flower she still loved him and would spend her days watching him as he moved the sun across the sky in his chariot. Just like the sunflowers move to face the sun.’

‘Yep, that’s incredibly depressing.’ Charity’s furrowed brow gave away how deep she was in thought.  
‘It is, you’re right. But I still love them. Plus, on a more superficial level they mean adoration, strength and loyalty, which I think applies pretty well to us.’  
‘Are you calling us superficial?’ Charity asked, causing Vanessa to chuckle.  
‘I don’t think there’s anything superficial about how I feel about you Charity.’ The seriousness had returned.  
‘I sort of get it though.’ Charity mused. ‘Even when we were apart for that bit of time, whenever you were near, I was drawn to you. Watching the way you moved. Any hint of a yellow raincoat out and about it made me think of you. Always. Pretty much since the beginning actually.’  
‘Aww are you comparing me to the sun?’  
‘And I’m your sunflower yeah?’  
‘If you like.’ They giggled together.

‘What about the irises?’  
Before continuing with her explanation Vanessa took a moment to readjust her hold on Charity so they could see each other again.  
‘She’s the goddess of the rainbow.’  
‘And?’  
‘She would use rainbows as a bridge to carry messages from heaven to earth.’  
‘Oh.’  
‘Yeah.’

They were silent. The room was silent. Even outside the window was silent now. The storm had finally moved on, away from Emmerdale but leaving its memory behind. The rain marks still apparent on the windows.

‘What about on a superficial level?’ Charity asked, and Vanessa understood.  
‘It can mean admiration, hope and faith.’  
‘So basically you’re saying you adore me then?’  
‘I’d like to think that one was mutual to be honest.’ Vanessa answered, leaning forward slightly to place a kiss on the end of Charity’s nose.  
‘Oh it is babe.’ She nodded. ‘Plus we have hope, don’t we?’  
‘So much hope.’

Over the years Charity had lost an awful lot to the flames. So much of her life had been shrouded in fear and horror that for a long time she didn’t believe she was deserving of anything good. Watching Vanessa in pain was worse than all of that put together. It was a new kind of hell that seemed to taunt her constantly. Despite this hell, having Vanessa with her, still smiling, still loving – was a reminder to have hope. A reminder to remain strong. A reminder that for a rainbow to appear you need both rain and sunshine, and the greater the storm, the brighter the rainbow.

‘I was thinking we could save the seeds from those sunflowers and plant them with the boys.’ Vanessa pondered out loud. Charity nodded her agreement, settling into the warmth of their bed, finally ready for sleep.

Over the years their garden bloomed. Their doorway was guarded by sunflowers as tall as them. Irises stood proud under their window. A whole variety of colours made up the rest of the garden, surrounding a small bench, just big enough for two. More often than not you would find two women sat together on this bench watching the world go by. Surrounded by their not so secret garden. The taller of the two would often whisper a comment to the other, causing a cackle of laughter to escape. It was clear as day that these two adored one another, their love brighter than all the flowers in their garden combined. They still battled their storms, but they would always somehow come out stronger on the other side.


End file.
